Parenting Tips

Party Animals -- a 2nd birthday party with useful and resourceful planning tips

To celebrate Joseph's second birthday we decided to keep it super simple, and the end result was a very special party. It was last minute -- we organised everything in exactly one week. Sometimes life is just so busy! So instead of an amazingly involved party theme (although I do love those as well), I ...

One of my pet peeves is fast fashion -- buying heaps of cheap clothes on impulse only to discard them after a few wears. But, as my girls get older, I'm finding it more and more challenging to avoid the fast fashion pitfalls. Up 'til now, dressing my children was pretty simple. They are easygoing ...

After school activities can be great for keeping your kids active and entertained beyond the school day. They can encourage your children to hone skills they might not necessarily have the chance to practice in school, and it can be a wonderful opportunity for kids to make new friends outside of their classroom. However, having ...

Tammie Flinos met her husband at the young age of eighteen. On their second date they decided they were going to adopt a child. After two biological children, they moved to Dubai where they began the adoption process. Here Tammie met Jodie Hampshire and Selina Smyth, two other women who were going through the adoption ...

After my post about environmentally friendly fem-care products, of course next up are nappies. Another rabbit hole! Amazing amounts of non-compostable waste is created by all of our lovely, sweet babies. Looking into eco-friendly disposable nappy brands, or even cloth nappies, is so relevant. One of our readers, Ilja Roomans, a mum of three here ...

My gorgeous friend Kiki lives in London with her husband and three children and is both a medical doctor and an experienced yoga teacher. Kiki was actually my introduction to yoga -- she and I were pregnant together when she suggested I join her at a yoga class (my very first one!), and we spent ...

It might be a bit of a strange subject for me to talk about periods and eco friendly menstrual products at the moment, given the fact that I haven't menstruated for over 7 months now. However, I've recently been talking with friends about menstrual cups (there's the MoonCup, the OrganiCup and the DivaCup, for example), ...

I have a dear friend who is a mentor and life coach in all senses of the word, offering advice to everyone at all stages of life -- from how to develop healthy sleep habits with your baby to dealing with the death of a loved one. She's also a mother of four, including two ...

The second trimester is when your body really starts to grow and you will feel your baby kick for the first time. You will radiate that amazing pregnancy glow. But you might also feel more tired and less energised than normal -- much energy is now going to the growth and development of your baby! (I ...

Slowly but steadily I'm getting the news of Sara's friends getting their first period. Between the age of 11 and 13 it will most likely take place. (Of course some girls are younger, and some are older.) Sara is not there yet, but it might not be that long now! Do you remember getting your ...

Annie Ridout is founder and editor of The Early Hour - a digital parenting and lifestyle magazine for people who are up early. I was introduced to Annie last year when she ran a story about our family gap year on her site, and we have stayed in touch ever since. She is also a freelance ...

The first trimester of your pregnancy is a time of excitement and giddiness, of insecurity and of physical unease. It is also a time of waiting and very often of hiding the first signs of being pregnant! This pregnancy, I nearly entirely missed my first trimester. By the time I found out that I was expecting ...

My friend Karine from Bodie and Fou got in touch last week to share her recent before-and-after renovation project of her daughter, Mila's bedroom. Mila is the same age as my eldest (and she's also really into surfing!) so it's always interesting for me to see the girl version of twelve years old. (I often marvel ...

Here in Paris not many families own a car, so driving our kids to our local school is not really an option, especially as the traffic is so very bad. We mostly walk, and kids start walking on their own to school from about 8 or 9. My eldest daughter Coco started at 8 as ...

A while ago my cousin and I were talking to the wife of another cousin of mine, who has two children, a boy aged 20 and a girl aged 18. We both have girls who are 12 years old, who are slowly but steadily entering a whole new phase of children's development: that of puberty ...

Growing up, my siblings and I had loads of chores. Beyond the usual daily chores, my dad even assigned bigger project-based chores for us to do, especially in the summer time when we were home from school. He believed we should be kept busy working and helping around the house. We were given chores like ...

I was chatting to a friend over the weekend and she told me she recently read an interesting article about raising girls. The article pointed out that when a young girl is showing signs of being pioneering or dominant or even simply independent, she is called 'bossy', whereas when a boy acts in the same ...

I have recently realised that a lot of my parenting philosophies can be synthesised down into a few short phrases or even words. The phrases have changed with the years (I don't seem to be screaming a simple "Stop!" that often anymore). Some phrases, I am sure, have been used since the dawn of time. ...

Over the past couple years, we've had the hard task of spending lots of time at the beach. : ) Okay, I joke... but the beach did become a central theme of our travels, especially as we discovered our love of surfing, and we went from being city dwellers to expert beach-goers. (It's a hard ...

A little while ago, a reader asked us for some gifting inspiration for the daughter of a friend, who just got her period for the first time. I thought this was such a very sweet and special idea! It's also quite relevant for me, as Sara just turned 12, and it won't be long for her... I ...

Do you have a signature newborn baby gift that you always give? Or gifts you've received that were just so thoughtful and unique? That newborn baby time is so special -- a time for fun and thoughtful gift giving, so we have curated our two dozen favourite gift ideas to share with you. With ideas that range ...

Since having children I've developed a fun little interest: I pick up cool Band-Aids wherever I find them. Especially when I travel I tend to be on the lookout for new designs. It's a fun little present to bring back to the kids and they are always so happy with them! I like to keep them everywhere. In the kitchen drawer (mostly ...

I was on the phone to Courtney the other night and we were laughing about how people can have such different attitudes towards child birth. There is a world of difference between the hippie town of Byron Bay and inner city Paris! Here is my theory: for me birth is a bit like a long-haul ...